


Ripple Effect

by tothevision



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Crisis on Infinite Earths (CW DC TV Universe), Alternate Universe - Time Travel, DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV) References, Established Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Established Relationship, F/F, Lena Luthor Doesn't Know Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl, Multiverse, One Shot, The Flash (TV 2014) References, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:34:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25440061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tothevision/pseuds/tothevision
Summary: Kara just wanted to bring her wife dinner.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 28
Kudos: 436





	Ripple Effect

The elevator took a ridiculously long time and Kara could have kicked herself for not just speeding up the stairwell. Lena needed to work late tonight - a call with some buyers in Japan that she wanted to have in the conference room at L-Corp, but she missed Kara. With how much they'd both been working lately, Kara resolved that they would have an office date like old times, and promised she would be there at 6pm promptly... Now it was almost 6:30. She strode down the hall, no assistant at the desk (thankfully), and ran into Lena's office.

“I know! I know I’m late. I’m sorry. I got held up downtown.” She quickly put the bags down on the coffee table and shed her jacket.

“Kara?” Lena looked up at her in surprise from her desk and stood. “Did we have plans tonight?”

“Ha ha,” she replied dryly, rolling her eyes. “Really, I’m sorry!” She walked over to her. “Spike got spooked again and he was tearing up a Starbucks. Why Adelita hasn’t put a leash on him yet, I don’t know, but if it happens again, I’m giving her a serious talking to. She’s 11 now, can you believe it?” She kissed Lena hello then went back to the food, taking out the boxes and plastic cutlery. “I’m starving! Let’s eat before it gets cold.”

She was oblivious to how Lena had frozen in place behind her, absolute shock on her face.

“Hey, did you redecorate again?” she asked, looking around the office curiously. It'd been a while since she'd been there. “Where’s James’ photo of me? You had it right on that wall. Wait...you’re not _that_ mad about me being late, are you?”

She turned around to find Lena staring at her with wide eyes.

“Lena?” Worry seized her and all thought of food forgotten as she put down the takeout containers and hurried back over to her, taking her face in her hands tenderly and pressed their bodies together. “Hey, what is it? What’s wrong?” She brushed her thumb over her cheek. “Are you all right?”

“Am I all right?” Lena repeated in a strangled sort of way as she flushed a deep shade of pink, “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“Me?” Kara frowned, looking over her. “I’m fine. But you seem _different_. You’re...did you have a bad day? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you like this.”

“Like what?”

“I’m not sure...” She gazed at her worriedly. "Unhappy?"

Lena shook her head with an incredulous chuckle.

Kara dropped her hands to encircle Lena’s waist, still holding her close, their faces inches away from each other. “Lena, please. Is it me? Did I do something? Your heart is beating so fast...”

“I suppose I’m... _confused_ ," she said carefully.

“Confused?” Kara echoed, her brow furrowing. “Confused about what?”

Lena swallowed thickly, silent for a long moment as she stared into her eyes with this unreadable expression that had Kara growing more and more concerned with each passing second. Then Lena rocked up on her toes and kissed her.

Kara was more than happy to oblige, deepening it before Lena had the chance to pull away and was rewarded with the softest utterance from her. Smiling into it, she figured that whatever was going on, it couldn't be as bad as Lena made it seem if she was kissing her like this. Splaying her hands openly against her back, she held them flush against each other as Lena wound her arms around her neck, holding Kara there as if she was afraid to let go.

She was two seconds away from lifting Lena onto the desk when her assistant knocked and stuck her head in before waiting for an answer.

“Oh!” she exclaimed as they reluctantly broke apart to face her. “I’m sorry, Miss Luthor! I didn’t know— I was just coming to give you the reports you— Never mind!” She disappeared just as quickly as she came.

Lena chuckled breathlessly, but Kara was unnerved. Something was off.

No. More than that. Something was very wrong here. She knew that assistant...but from years ago. She looked around Lena’s office again, really looked at it this time, and... This wasn’t right.

“Kara?”

Her quiet entreaty pulled her back and Kara was stunned to see Lena looking so unsure, so nervous, but hopeful at the same time. As if it was the first time they...

“Oh no,” she whispered.

Lena’s face fell.

“I...oh, boy. This is so not good. This is... How did I...? Where—rather, _when_ am I?” Kara took a few steps back, head swiveling around as if she’d find the answer written on the wall. “Lena, what was that woman’s name?”

Lena had folded her arms tightly across her chest, seeming to draw in on herself protectively. It pained Kara’s heart to see it, but this was all wrong. This wasn’t her time! Or universe? Wherever/whenever she was, Lena wasn’t her wife here... _yet_. She didn’t want to hurt her, but how much damage had she done already? How had she’d been so blind?

“Alana,” she answered flatly. “She's been here through the transition from Luthor Corp.”

Warning bells went off in Kara’s head. She realized why she had such a bad feeling when she saw her.

“Okay. Um. I’m so sorry. I have to go. I have to... There’s something I forgot to do. But you need to fire Alana.”

“What?” Lena stared at her like she had three heads and, seriously, Kara couldn’t blame her.

She grabbed her jacket as she backed up towards the door. “I can’t explain right now, but you have to trust me, she’s a mole. She’s spying on you for Cadmus. I have to go!”

“Wait, how do you—!?”

But Kara was already out the door. She saw Alana at her desk typing away, trying to seem inconspicuous about what she’d just walked in on. Kara tried to walk past her and leave it alone. She’d already interfered too much. She shouldn’t have even told Lena about the spy. Who knows how much she’d changed already with barging in tonight and then she had to go warn her about Cadmus?

But the instinct to protect her wife was too strong. She couldn’t just let this woman stay in Lena’s building knowing what she would do.

In Kara’s defense, she almost made it to the elevator... _almost_.

She spun on her heel and stormed back to Alana, planted her hands on the desk, and leaned over threateningly.

“I know who you are,” she said lowly. “If you want to avoid jail, I’d run now before the police get here. Run far and fast because some flimsy metal bars won't stop Lillian Luthor when she finds out you failed her.”

The woman stood up warily, trying to ascertain how real this exposure was. The look in Kara’s eyes was clearly enough because she didn’t bother trying to defend herself. Instead, she ripped off her headset and ran for the elevator. Kara let her go. She took the stairwell this time, forcing herself to keep it at a human pace, knowing how many cameras were in L-Corp, but as soon as she was out of the building and around the corner, she leapt into the sky in her suit.

Well, she’d already messed with the timeline by telling Lena about the danger so threatening Alana couldn’t have really done that much more damage, right?

As she hurtled through the air, she wracked her brain. If she was somehow sent back in time, then when was she? If Alana hadn't been discovered yet then this must be before the Exodus launch. Before Lena discovered where Cadmus was holding the kidnapped aliens. Which was in...2016, no, 2017!

7 years ago.

How the hell did this happen?

* * *

Lena was desperately trying to get a hold of herself. She refused to allow herself to cry after Kara ran out. She took several deep, shuddering breaths, and willed herself to get her feelings under control. Yes, she’d just been rattled by the whirlwind that was Kara Danvers tonight, but she could not allow this to get to her. She had a mission, she had a billion dollar corporation to run, and she refused to allow her new best friend's... _mind games_ shake her from that.

So lost in her musings, she didn’t exactly pick up on the giant spaceship hovering outside her office windows until someone knocked on the glass door to her balcony...from outside.

Only Supergirl did that.

Wait.

Supergirl never knocked.

Lena looked up and her eyebrows nearly shot into her hairline.

“Hey,” a short blonde woman waved from outside. “Mind if I come in?”

Definitely not Supergirl.

She didn’t wait for Lena’s permission and opened the door, walking in with another woman that was taller than them both.

“Hi, sorry, I know this is totally rude and probably not at all normal for you right now, even though you get used to it later, so I will get out of your hair as soon as possible, but we’re looking for someone and it’s really important that we find her. Have you seen K—“

The taller woman coughed pointedly. Lena was sure she heard something like “secret identity”.

“Uhhh...have you seen a _woman_...that is _blonde_...?” she amended awkwardly. “Uh not us, obviously. But like...you know...another woman who is also blonde... Seen any of those tonight?”

“Again, she does not mean us,” the taller one clarified.

“Yeah like someone with glasses or, you know, a cape, whichever.”

The taller one elbowed her hard and she grunted in pain, but didn’t say anything more, biting her lip.

“What the hell is going on here?” Lena crossed her arms pointedly.

“So you haven’t seen her?”

“We’re wasting time, Sara. If there's another rift, we could lose K- _her_ again.”

Lena's head was spinning, but she put on her best front. “Whoever you are, you’re trespassing. I suggest you leave my office before I call security.”

“Hey, Lena, I know this is a shock right now, but come on, we really need to know. It’s important we find her.”

“Clearly you who I am so you also know that my security team is no joke. Are you ready to take that risk?”

“We should go,” the other woman insisted. “This isn’t helping. We can do another scan and hope for a hit if she’s not moving too fast.”

“Are you kidding me? She’s faster than Barry!”

“I believe we've established that pretty much _everyone_ is faster than the so-called 'Fastest Man Alive'," she rolled her eyes, "but we can debate it at the next crossover. Let’s go!”

Sara groaned and rolled her eyes, but went along with it. “See ya around, Luthor. By the way, you do a bombass suit, but I gotta say, you’re killing that dress too, babe.”

She winked at her before they dissipated, seemingly teleported onto their ship. The ship lifted into the air and was gone in a second. As if nothing ever happened.

Lena stood alone in the middle of her office, flabbergasted.

“Have I been drugged?”

* * *

Kara considered going to the DEO or finding Alex, but neither of those things seemed like a viable option. If she'd traveled through time, she couldn't risk interacting with her past self or her friends. Who knows what damage she'd done just by barging in on Lena tonight? She flew out over the sea and inhaled deeply, letting herself slow and float high above the ocean. The sky was clear tonight, no clouds for coverage. Was this a case of time travel or had she traveled to another Earth in the multiverse? Was there even a DEO? Was Alex still her sister?

Lena...

Kara couldn't help it. So many years of being constantly attuned to the sound of her heart. It beat erratically from deep within the city and tears clouded her vision at once. She knew the sound, Lena was in pain. She'd hurt her tonight... Whatever Kara's relationship with Lena was here, they hadn't become lovers yet and she definitely had no idea who she really was.

Groaning, she pressed her hand over her mouth. This was so bad. How was she going to fix this? If Lena spiraled down that dark path after learning Kara's betrayal when they were best friends, how much worse would it be to discover that she was Supergirl after Kara also crossed the lines of friendship? She'd just changed the entire trajectory of their relationship and who knows what else?

Fortunately, Kara was saved from further useless agonizing by the sound of a highly sophisticated ship, though cloaked, racing through the dark towards her. Kara spun around and braced herself for a fight, but then she remembered why the sound was so familiar.

* * *

With her hands on her hips, cape billowing behind her as she walked around the main console on Waverider, she leveled her gaze at Sara and Ava.

“Okay, don’t hold back. Tell me everything. What’s the damage?”

They exchanged a look.

“That bad?”

“Well...” Ava started, pressing a few buttons on the console, “I guess you should see what caused us to come running after you like this.”

The holographic projection showed a bleak landscape, dust and dead earth. It was dark and it looked like there was ice everywhere. The screen pulled back further and further until Kara saw the entire round globe of Earth from space and it was...gone. There were no oceans. No green. No blue. Just an ugly charcoal grey and giant chasms ran through former continents.

“Is this a joke?”

Sara grimaced. “Nope. This is exactly 7 years from now. It happened the moment you walked through the time rift and every alarm we have went off."

"So this is still Earth-38? I traveled back in time?"

"Yes," Ava replied, "we've been tracking these rifts on Earth-1 mostly, but this was by far the worst. We were able to seal it pretty quickly though."

"Look, whatever you just did tonight somehow leads to both you and Lena dying in the next two years."

Kara's eyes widened fearfully.

"Then, from what we gathered, without you or Lena to stop him, Lex Luthor rose to power again and found a way to transport the sun to another universe. Therefore killing Superman and all life on Earth-38. Lex survived, in case you’re wondering.”

“I wasn’t,” she muttered.

Sara ignored her. “He used an inter-dimensional transmatter portal to get himself away safely, light years away, on another planet in a different galaxy.”

Kara covered her mouth in horror as she stared at the barren world projected in front of her. “This can’t be...” She spun around on Sara. “This can’t be right! How could one little thing like tonight lead to,” she gestured wildly at the screen, “this kind of destruction?”

“You know perfectly well how changing the past can drastically alter the future, the untold ripple effect it can cause. Spare us the Pollyanna act, please. You’re a living, breathing, genius from a planet that was once made up of of the most advanced scientists and scholars the universe has ever known. Have some dignity!”

Shocked, not to mention offended, Kara gaped at her for a moment before her brow furrowed angrily. "Just who do you think you are?"

"Whoa!" Sara stepped in between them, looking at Kara uneasily. “Oookay. How about we just focus on minimizing the damage and putting this all back together?”

Kara spared another glare at Ava before reluctantly letting it go. "Fine. How do we do that?”

Ava answered, much to Kara’s displeasure. “You need to tell us everything you did tonight. Every step you took, every person you spoke to, leave nothing out. We’ll have to pinpoint the problem from there.”

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I can’t believe this is happening. What caused the rift?"

"Well!" Sara clapped her hands together with a grimace. "That...is a bit of a story."

Ava looked even more aggrieved if that was possible. Kara looked between them curiously.

"You do it," Ava said, holding her hands up. "I just can't anymore."

Sara slipped her arm around the other woman's waist and rubbed her hip soothingly. "I know, babe." She turned to Kara. "The Flash Kids are a handful."

"Wait... Kids? Plural? Barry and Iris just had their first child, Nora, like four months ago. You were at the christening with us."

"Yeah, this is where it gets worse, try to stay with me." Sara took a breath. "You just came from the year 2024, right?"

Kara nodded.

"What's happening on Earth Prime occurs 6 years in your future, 2030, which is 13 years from _this_ time."

Kara's brow furrowed and her mouth opened, ready to unleash a torrent of questions, but Sara jumped ahead of it.

"Okay, Wally West has a daughter, Irey. This kid is insane. She's faster than Barry and Wally, and like, everyone else possible. Right now, she's only five and doesn't know how to control her powers yet, and her powers are beyond anything we've seen from the Flash before. She's moving so fast that she's creating tears in space/time, weaving through the multiverse and time itself, leaving absolute chaos in her wake."

"Wally had a baby?" Kara squealed delightedly. "Kid Flash had a Baby Flash and he named her after Iris? That is the sweetest thing ever!"

Ava didn't even try to hide her disdain.

"Barry and Wally have been chasing after her on this latest streak through the multiverse."

Kara's smile wavered slightly. "This has happened before?"

"Our team has been working serious overtime to seal the rifts she keeps making and most of them have been pretty harmless, however, this time, in trying to visit Aunt Kara and Aunt Lena..."

"Awww!"

"...she caused the biggest rift yet in crossing from Earth-1 to Earth-38 while time traveling simultaneously."

"Oh. Um. That's not good."

"We were already on our way to seal it when we discovered the massive effect the rift had and how you'd been pulled through it. So we have some serious work to do and we need to do it fast. Fortunately, we found you by scanning for residual tachyon particles. Thanks for staying still long enough for it to work."

"Okay... Okay." Kara nodded, taking it all in with a deep breath. "But shouldn't we be trying to find Wally's little girl and contain her first? Put her in time out? What's the point in fixing anything if more rifts keep opening?"

Ava reluctantly came back into the conversation. "If Barry and Wally can't catch her, we have no chance. She's literally leaping through the fabric of the universe in ways I never thought possible and I swear to God if I ever get my hands on that kid, I'm gonna--!"

"Babe!" Sara caught her by the shoulders. "Breathe. Remember, we're learning to meditate now and not threaten to murder innocent children."

Ava inhaled deeply. "Mother _fucking_ West-Allen's..."

She stalked off and Kara looked at Sara warily, but she just shrugged. "It's been a trying few months. My team is spread out trying to find Irey and clean up the messes. If that wasn't bad enough, Iris and Barry have more kiddos in different points of the future causing problems too. Less problems than Wally's, but still... Ava's just gonna need moment."

They heard shouting and cringed as some really heavy things crashed deep within the ship.

Sara wrinkled her nose. "Maybe more than a moment."

Kara nodded. "Yeah, I'd say so."

“Okay, back to fixing the immediate crisis on hand which is, you know..."

"The complete annihilation of Earth?"

"That's the one! Ava and I already discussed it and we think J’onn J’onnz is a handy asset right now."

Kara frowned at that.

“I know it's not ideal, but he can wipe everyone’s memories," Sara explained. "We'll retrace your steps tonight and go through it until we erase enough of your footprint to stabilize the timeline."

"But Sara..." she trailed off, her face drawn and pained.

"I know. Really. I'm sorry, Kara. But we don't have another choice."

"He can't know."

"He won't."

* * *

Ava drilled Kara about every single step she took leading up to the moment she came onboard. Kara thought it was pointless because obviously the only significant thing that happened was her crashing Lena's office and making out with her. It was either that or Kara threatening Alana. As far as mystery cases go, this one was wrapped in a pretty bow for them, but Ava was insistent and Sara didn't disagree.

"Okay, so you went into the restaurant, you greeted the hostess, and there was nothing unusual?"

"No. She barely even noticed me. It was busy. She was on the phone. The food was ready so I paid with my card, picked up the bags, walked out, and went straight to L-Corp. I was there for maybe a minute or two."

"You didn't see anyone else you know in the restaurant? Didn't encounter anyone while you waited or on your way out?"

"No... Well, I mean, there was a dog outside that barked. It startled me while I was trying not to bump into another guest as I turned around. But I didn't know them. Nothing happened."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing!" She stopped. "Well..."

Ava impatiently gestured for her to continue.

"My glasses slid down." The incredulous look on Ava's face made her scramble to defend herself. "For like a half a second! There's no way anyone could have seen me. I caught them before they fell off. It's impossible!"

Ava rolled her eyes. "Gideon, is there security footage of that restaurant?"

"And pull the receipts of everyone that was there tonight," Sara added, "anything time stamped two hours before and two hours after Kara's exit."

The receipts came through quickly and Kara scanned through the names to see if she recognized anyone. Ava was parsing through the grainy security footage of one camera that was pointed at the door and host stand from inside the restaurant.

"I don't know any of th--" Kara cut herself off and looked closer at the screen. "Wait, _Lockwood_?"

"What is it?"

"Probably nothing, but Gideon," she asked the AI, swallowing thickly, "the Peter Lockwood on these records, is there any relation to Benjamin Lockwood?"

"Census records say that he has a son named Benjamin Alexander Lockwood."

"Oh no..." Kara gasped. "How--"

"I've got the footage," Ava announced and put it on the holographic projector.

They watched Kara run in and all three of them instantly groaned. Kara slumped down in her seat, covering her face sheepishly.

"I can't believe I did that..."

For about 1.5 seconds, Kara had been moving way too fast for an ordinary human. The footage continued as Kara talked to the hostess, paid for her food, and turned around. Ava zoomed in on the moment that Kara jumped at the dog barking and slightly bumped shoulders with another patron. Her glasses slipped off her nose just barely before Kara pushed them back up. She walked out of the restaurant and nothing else of interest seemed to happen. Ava rewound it and played it again.

"You were sloppy."

"I _know_ ," she bemoaned. "I was distracted and in a hurry to get to Lena. I just-- I made a mistake. It was so tiny..."

Sara came to her rescue, changing the subject. "So who's this Peter Lockwood?"

"Agent Liberty's father. I'm so screwed. If he saw me then no wonder everything went kablooey."

"Agent Liberty. I'm going to assume that's a name of a bad guy?"

"A human one."

"Not even metahuman?"

"No. He was a domestic terrorist. Hated aliens, determined to exterminate us all, same ol' same ol'. Wait, there!" Ava paused the hologram at the point where Kara was at the hostess stand. Kara pointed to a head of blonde hair visible in the corner, "I recognize him. That's Ben Lockwood's son."

"So the older man next to him is most likely Peter Lockwood," Ava said.

"We have to get J'onn." Kara's panic started to bubble over. "Agent Liberty isn't a threat yet, but he will be soon. If Peter tells him about me then it'll endanger everyone I love! We have to stop this!"

"Hold on." Sara had a curious expression on her face. "Ava, play that back again. Yeah... See, Gramps never even looks up when you're there, Kara, he's too busy chatting with the guy next to him. But the kid...the kid can't take his eyes off you."

* * *

J'onn, blessedly, didn't ask many questions. After a few hundred years of existence, apparently you don't find time travel altogether surprising. He was loathe to agree to mind-wiping, but after showing him what happened to Earth...he understood what was at stake and offered his help.

Finding the Lockwoods and erasing prepubescent George's memories was surprisingly easy. It was late at night, everyone in the house was asleep. Kara stayed aboard Waverider with Ava while Sara went with J'onn for backup. They didn't want to risk any further exposure with Kara and she reluctantly agreed. J'onn looked through the boy's mind as he slept and saw that he did indeed put together Kara and Supergirl, but he hadn't told anyone yet.

J'onn kind of coughed awkwardly when he relayed this part, looking supremely uncomfortable, but eventually he admitted the biggest reason why George hadn't told anyone about Kara is because he wasn't as focused on the Supergirl-posing-as-a-human part as he was on the Kara-is-a-very-attractive-woman part...

Sara outright snorted while Kara looked absolutely horrified.

"Eventually he would have told his father, I'm certain of that, but he went right home and locked himself in his room and--"

"No!" Kara cried. J'onn was visibly relieved that he didn't have to finish that sentence. "We get the picture. Ugh. _Gross_." She gagged.

"First time I've ever been grateful for a horny 12 year old boy. Made our job that much easier tonight!" Sara said with a shrug and looked to Ava. "How's the timeline looking now?"

"Less catastrophic, so we're getting there. Gideon calculated that the spy in L-Corp didn't have much of a ripple. It's not worth tracking her down. So we can just move on to the last piece."

J'onn frowned. "Which is?"

Kara didn't need to hear the answer.

* * *

Lena opened the door, looking less than pleased. Kara inhaled sharply, feeling the familiar uptick in her heartbeat and flush through her body. She couldn't help it. Lena always had this effect on her. It was the same then as it would be in 7 years. Her wife was, and always has been, stunningly beautiful. Lena had a robe haphazardly tugged over her nightgown, her hair was slightly mussed, and her typically sharp green eyes were still clouded with sleep. Especially since it was three o'clock in the morning.

Kara knew the sight so well and even with all this pressing in on them, the instinct she felt was as natural as breathing. She itched to tug Lena into her arms, kiss that soft, sleep-warmed skin, and whisper against her ear as she drew them to bed until they sank deep into each other as the night went on.

But this was not her wife. This was a very sleepy, irritated, and distrusting Lena Luthor who had just been rudely awoken before dawn.

"Kara?" Lena exhaled in disbelief, then confusion gave way to coldness. She drew her shoulders up, blinking sleep away from her eyes, and lifted her chin in that way that Kara knew all too well. Her walls had gone up with reinforcement. "What do you want? Do you have any idea what time... How did the hotel even let you up here?"

"I need to talk to you," she said contritely.

Lena scoffed. "I have an early morning, Kara, and I've only slept two hours. Whatever game you want to play can certainly wait a little longer."

"I'd never do that to you." She caught herself. "Well, except, like, board games and charades and stuff because I love hosting game night and you're-- Okay, that's not the point. I just mean, I wouldn't play with your feelings like that. I care about you, Lena. Please let me explain what happened. It's...this is important."

Lena's gaze was stony and impenetrable. Kara honestly had no idea what she was going to do, but after a long moment of unbearable silence, Lena tilted her chin down and stepped away from the door, allowing her in.

After she closed it behind them and tucked her robe around herself tighter, she wiped at her face blearily and went to the couch.

"It's absurdly early, Kara. I really hope you have a good reason for this."

"I do."

Lena sat down tiredly, not looking at her, while Kara remained on her feet. She opened her mouth to begin, but nothing came out. She realized she didn't know where to start, what to say, how much to say, or how little to say. What would convince Lena Luthor, the woman who had only known her for less than a year, to trust her with something as unbelievable as this?

Before Kara realized it, she'd started pacing in front of Lena who was watching her from the couch, elbow propped high on the cushion, face resting on her hand, with a severely unimpressed look.

Kara stopped, facing her. "Lena..."

"Yes?"

She froze again, mouth agape before she finally shut it and puffed her cheeks out in frustration.

"Jesus Christ," Lena rolled her eyes and started to get up when Kara ran over, hands on her shoulders, and begged her to give her another chance.

"Spit it out then!"

"I'm from the future."

Lena stared at her.

"Yeah. I know." Kara winced, stepping away again, and fiddled with her glasses awkwardly. "That look...the look you have right now is exactly why I've been trying to figure out how to say it, but there's no other way to say it except to say it, so...there. I'm from the future. 7 years in the future to be exact."

She finally sat down next to her on the couch, shifting her whole body towards her.

"I accidentally went through this...tear in the veil of time and space and I ended up in the past. I know how it sounds, but here I am. Crazy, right? I didn't know what had happened until I was in your office tonight and then eventually I figured out that things were... _different_. That's how I know about Alana working for Cadmus. She hasn't done it yet, but in about a week she was going to have two men try to kidnap you, but they'd mess up and you'd fall over your balcony at L-Corp. Supergirl caught you. Don't worry...that won't happen now. I'm pretty sure I scared Alana off."

Lena was stock still and eerily silent as she continued to stare at her.

"It's a lot to take in, I know, but it's true."

More silence.

"Lena?"

"Your hair is different," she mused.

"What?" Kara reached up to smooth it down self consciously. "Oh! Yeah! I started doing lighter highlights. Y-you don't like it?"

Lena shook her head slightly, refocusing. "So you're saying that the reason you barged into my office tonight and _kissed me_ , only to then announce that my assistant was a spy for my mother's clandestine operation to rid the Earth of aliens and then ran out without a single word of explanation...is because you're from the future? _That's_ the best you could come up with?"

She groaned. "Lena..."

"You get points for thinking outside the box, Kara, but if you really believed--"

"In a few months you're going to run into your ex-boyfriend, Jack Spheer," she cut her off determinedly. "He's succeeded with the nanobot technology you two worked on together before you left him and came to National City to take over Luthor Corp. You did that because you wanted to live in the same city as Supergirl, to be able to work with her while turning your family legacy into a force for good. To do everything in your power to make the world a better place."

Lena visibly wavered.

"I'm sure you've been following Spheerical Industries, right? He's going to do an unveiling in National City, hold a press conference, and send you a personal invitation. Maybe you've already gotten it? At the last minute, you'll ask me to go with you because...you'll want a friend to be by your side. And of course I go with you because there's nothing I wouldn't do for you, Lena."

"That's..." her voice was hoarse and she cleared it before trying again more steadily, "that's a lot of speculation wrapped up in some deep background you've surely done on me. Nothing any reporter couldn't dig up."

"For some of it...maybe. But how could I know that you chose National City as L-Corp's headquarters specifically because you wanted to be near Supergirl?"

"That's not why--"

"Yes, it is. And I know because _you_ tell me...in the future. You'll tell me about you and Jack and why it ended. How could I know that from research? Lena...there's so much more I could say, but I'm hoping I won't have to because the less you know about the future, the better. But what I did tonight? It changed too much, too soon. It caused some awful, unintended after effects. Ripple effects. I-- Supergirl...s-she has friends. They found me and they'll be able to get me back to my time. But--"

"Let me guess, two women with a spaceship?"

Kara's jaw dropped. "How could you _possibly_ know that?"

"They dropped by my office earlier looking for you." She shrugged. "It was an interesting experience."

"They neglected to mention that." Kara shifted her glasses. "But we've been busy. Look, Lena, I know we haven't been friends for very long yet, but in the future you are _the_ most important person in my life, along with Alex. From what you know about me so far... Do you really believe that I would make something like this up?"

"No."

"Good, then..."

"But I don't understand why you're telling me _more_ about the 'future' if you're saying that's what causes things to go wrong. Why haven't you gone back already to avoid more disturbances? This isn't adding up, Kara. There's something you're not telling me. And how does a tear in space/time just _randomly_ happen to you? That's not a thing!"

Kara rubbed her forehead. "Ugh, that's an even longer story that I really can't go into, but you're right there's more to it. I'm not just here to explain my actions tonight. I need you to do something, but I'm afraid that you're not going to trust me enough to do it."

"And what's that?"

"The future has changed because of what you know, because of what I did...accidentally. The only way to change it back is to make sure that you don't remember what happened tonight."

Lena got to her feet, eyes widening. "You want to erase my memory?"

"I wouldn't ask if--"

"Absolutely not!" she snapped. "What kind of technology could you even have that would--?"

"Lena!" Kara cut her off sharply, trying to be patient. "The world _ends_ because of what happened tonight. Everyone on Earth _dies_. Your brother does something horrible and he destroys the planet just to kill Superman. And it happens because of a misstep I made. Please, please, help me fix this. No one can remember my presence in this time."

"I-I don't..." Lena rolled her eyes. "It's ludicrous that whatever happened between us in my office would have any kind of impact like that."

"I can't go into all the details." Kara folded her arms across her chest. "You understand quantum field theory so you can answer your own doubts about just how _ludicrous_ it would be for something small to have an echoing impact, but I just...I need you to trust me. Please, Lena."

"And if I don't?" She narrowed her eyes at her. "If I don't consent to what you're asking, what then, Kara?"

"You will," she replied simply.

"Through force?" Her words cold and cutting. "These _friends_ of Supergirl's... Are they lying in wait to attack if you can't convince me first?"

Kara lowered her head. "I would never do that."

"Then I really don't know what your plan here is because I would never allow anyone to invade my mind in the manner you're suggesting."

Kara took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She knew how much of a battle this was going to be coming in here and so far it was going exactly as she expected.

"Regardless of what I have to do to convince you, how much more dangerous it becomes with the more information I share and the risk it poses to us all, eventually you will have all the data and then you'll know, with scientific certainty, that this is the only way. The reason why you'll agree to this is because you're selfless, brave, and _good_. You would never want to hurt anyone and when you see that this is the only way, I know you'll agree to do it."

She stood up slowly, hands clasped imploringly, and took a small step towards her, knowing Lena might try to bolt at any moment.

"But I'm hoping that you'll have enough faith in me to avoid putting us in even more jeopardy. If I share with you the details of what happens over the next few years, drastically changing the future by giving you that knowledge...the chances of being able to undo that damage becomes that much smaller. I'm begging you not to take that risk."

Lena blew out a heavy breath, running her hands through her hair as she moved away from Kara, her back to her, and stepped towards the dark windows that looked out over the city. The night sky was just beginning to lighten.

"Chaos theory," she said quietly.

Kara didn't speak, didn't move, just waited.

Lena turned around, swallowing thickly. "The butterfly effect, or chaos theory, that's what you mean when you say 'ripple effects' right?"

Kara nodded.

She gasped softly and shut her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose as it finally started to hit her.

"Lena..."

"You're really-- You're _really_ from the future?"

"Yeah." She fiddled with her glasses. "It's been wild ride for my brain tonight."

"Time travel..." Lena sighed, shaking her head. "I suppose I've heard of more outlandish things with superheroes popping up everywhere these days."

Kara took another step towards her, but forced herself to keep her hands at her sides. There was nothing more she wanted to do right now than to take Lena in her arms and lavish her with every reassurance that it would be okay. But she knew it wouldn't be welcomed.

“I know how much I'm asking of you and how awful it is, but this...what you know right now will change our future for the worse and we have...” she exhaled with a blissful smile, “we have such a _beautiful_ future. Messing with that will cause horrible things to happen. My presence here changed everything in the future and Earth...our world... I wouldn’t ask you to do this if there was any other way.”

She leveled her gaze at her. "So what exactly are you proposing? How would this be done?"

Kara blew out a huge breath, so relieved, and utterly unable to keep the stars out of her eyes as she grinned at Lena in adoration. "His name is J'onn."

She quickly explained the Martian Manhunter's psychic abilities, that he worked with Supergirl and Alex, and swore that he could be trusted. Deeming it safe enough now, she moved close enough to be at Lena's side by the window and was content to let silence fall between them for a while as Lena processed the massive amount of information that she'd been given.

When she spoke again, Kara expected questions based in scientific curiosity about time travel or demands for details regarding J'onn's abilities. But Lena surprised her as always.

“Are we...together?” she asked cautiously, the slightest tremor in her voice. “In your future?”

Kara bit her lower lip, unsure of how much more she should reveal, but Lena’s memories of tonight would be erased so the least she could do was be honest about this. She held up her left hand with a sheepish grin and the light reflected off her wedding band.

Lena’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Kara nodded quickly, unable to contain the joy. “Yeah. It’s pretty...gosh, it’s still unbelievable to me sometimes, but yeah. We’re married.”

“Are we happy?”

Kara’s expression was soft and glowing. “You make me the happiest person on Earth...or in the known realm even. I can’t imagine my life without you. I try every day to make sure you feel the same.”

Lena inhaled sharply, not sure if she could actually believe all of this...or if she was ready to lose it at the same time. Kara seemed to understand because she stepped closer with the kindest, brightest blue eyes.

“This isn’t goodbye, Lena. It’s just waiting. For you. For us. We’re not ready in this time, not yet. We have so much that we still need to learn about ourselves, and trials to endure, but one day we will be ready. And when it happens, it’s going to be _incredible_. Trust me?”

“Oddly enough, I do.”

Smiling, Kara turned to get J’onn, but Lena caught her arm and pulled her back.

“If I’m not going to remember any of this then can you do one more thing for me?”

“Anything.”

“Kiss me.”

As if Kara could deny her.

It was slow when she embraced her. Lena was sure her nerves showed, but Kara was achingly gentle. She had this look of knowing, of certainty, of contentment, and that was a direct contrast to Lena's fearfully racing heart and fluttering breath. Kara cupped her face and it was so sweet and perfect as their lips met. Just the lightest pressure before it was gone again. Somehow it quelled the nerves in Lena's belly and replaced it with a fire of absolute _need_. Kara dipped back with purpose and encapsulated her in a deep, claiming meeting of their mouths that Lena felt in every inch of her body and soul. Hands wound in her hair, greedy, searching grasps wherever they could reach. They met again and again in a way that was wholly new and yet so familiar it felt like an ancient ritual.

Eventually, needing to breathe, they slowed and Lena braced herself for the moment where Kara would pull away and she would resign herself to the end. Kara did pull away, hovering over Lena's mouth, her breath hot on her skin as they panted slightly against each other, but instead of stepping back, she suddenly dove back to capture Lena's lips with an altogether different kind of intensity.

This time, Lena was more or less along for the ride as Kara wrapped around her bodily and kissed her with such a playful and eager teasing that she didn't know what to make of it. The way Kara kissed her lips, jaw, throat, seemingly unable to get enough...it was so different than what Lena had known. It was pure joy. Just utter happiness and love and silliness...she couldn't help it, a giggle escaped her in between their lips meeting again and her heart felt like it could burst when she saw that it had made Kara smile.

Kara was still grinning when she pressed one last, loving kiss to her lips, her hands had come back from Lena's hips and were tenderly caressing her jaw once more. As much as she didn't want it to end, it somehow seemed less heartbreaking than it did before. Especially with Kara's gaze shining right into her, happy and as bright as the sun.

“I-I know you said that we aren’t ready yet, um, present Kara and me, but you need to know that I've wanted—“

Kara’s thumb over her lips stopped her.

“I know,” she said with a tender smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll tell each other everything one day.”

“Just can’t be today, right?”

Kara nodded sadly. “I love you so much,” she whispered, pressing her forehead to hers and gazed into her with such devotion that Lena felt it to her very core. “Don’t lose hope.”

"If you're my future then I have more hope than I've ever known."

Kara's grip on her tightened almost desperately, but Lena managed to put on a brave smile as she looked up at her even with a few tears slipping out. Kara brushed them away, looking so torn, but Lena's smile grew. This is what it was going to be like? This feeling in her chest? The warmth surrounding her? To know that she was going to be this fiercely loved someday by the woman in front of her...it gave her the willpower to see this through.

She took an unsteady breath. “I’m ready.”

Her voice sounded stronger than she felt, but looking into Kara's eyes suddenly created a whole world of new possibilities...of things that Lena never thought could be for her. Reluctantly, Kara slipped away and the loss of her warmth was almost enough to make Lena change her mind and beg her not to do this, but she heard Kara’s voice in her head over and over.

_Don’t lose hope._

Kara opened the door to the balcony and a tall, older Black man flew down to stand next to her. He walked into the suite with deference, acknowledging her with a nod. Probably trying to appear as disarming as possible. Lena glanced at Kara one more time before determinedly staring up at him as he came closer, her heart beating wildly with fear.

He was kind, his smile gentle, but it seemed this pained him to do as well.

“It won’t hurt."

Lena closed her eyes tightly when she felt his callused hand on her temple and inhaled.

* * *

Kara caught her easily as Lena swayed into unconsciousness and she carried her to bed. Gently, she laid her down with her head on the pillow and took care to pull back the sheets and tuck her in under the comforter.

"She'll be okay," J'onn reassured her.

"How long until she wakes up?"

"A few hours. I figured she could use the sleep after tonight. Dawn's breaking."

Kara followed his gaze towards the floor to ceiling windows of the hotel room, seeing the sun peek out into a pink and blue sky.

"Will you check on her later today? Make up some excuse, disguise yourself if you have to, just to be sure everything's..."

He nodded. "You have my word."

Gideon's calculations earlier showed that J'onn retaining his memory of tonight caused some minor alterations in the future, but, thankfully, not enough to warrant him needing to erase his own memories. Especially since they'd been careful not to reference "Agent Liberty" around him and only spoke of the Lockwoods in a vague capacity. To him, it was simply a case of protecting Supergirl's identity and nothing more.

She chewed on her thumbnail anxiously, her gaze flickering between J'onn and the slumbering Lena. "What if something triggers her memory?"

"That's highly improbable."

Kara sighed. "I've seen it happen before...with someone else you've done this to."

He watched her pensively for a moment. "If that's the case, and for some reason she's triggered in the future, I'll be here to fix it."

Kara's chest tightened, but she didn't give anything away. "Thank you."

She couldn’t tell him that he wouldn’t be there.

"You're a good man, J'onn J'onzz. I am honored to fight alongside you. Thank you. For everything you've done for me...and everything you continue do."

"The honor is always mine, Kara Zor-El."

She nodded solemnly at him, conflicted, then launched forward and embraced him in a fierce hug that would have injured any human. J'onn was surprised, but chuckled fondly and hugged her back. Kara made sure her head was turned away when they broke apart so that he didn't see her tears.

"Goodbye J'onn."

"Until next time, Supergirl."

He shifted into his Martian form and stepped onto the balcony before lifting into the sky.

She let herself cry for a few moments and went to Lena again, carefully seating herself next to her on the bed. She just wanted to be near her, taking comfort in her presence, and watched her sleep, drinking in the sight that she would come to know so well. But she'd never had the chance to see her like this now. Just as all their adventures were about to begin. The laughter, the heartbreak, the trials and tears, and inevitable rediscovery of one another.

"It was-- It was _really_ good seeing him again," she whispered to the sleeping brunette, knowing she'd never hear. "Everyone always talks about how he died a hero, as if it makes it better, but it doesn't. It never does. I miss him so much. I know Alex misses him even more. I wish... I wish there was a way to change it, but I know I can't. Just like I know we had to do what we did today."

With every fiber of her being, she resisted the urge to run her fingertips over Lena's soft cheek and through her dark locks.

"I wish you were here with me."

Lena's tearful gaze right before she closed her eyes for J'onn was burned into Kara's mind and seared over her heart. All she wanted to do was hold her wife, but this wasn't her...not yet. She ached for Lena, even though her younger self was lying right there within arm's reach. Kara needed to see her Lena and be reassured that they’d done the right thing. Having to lie to her the way she did tonight was something she swore to herself long ago that she would never do again.

Sara picked the perfect time to arrive, walking casually into the suite with her hands in her pockets.

“Need a lift?”

Kara took one more lingering look at her peacefully sleeping wife and smiled. "Yeah." She leapt off the bed gracefully and floated down into a stride towards Sara. "I can't wait to go home."

Sara tapped her communicator once she was close. Right before they beamed out, Kara looked back at Lena.

"See you soon," she murmured.

* * *

Kara was practically bouncing with excitement as they walked through the corridors of the ship, a stark contrast to Sara's swagger next to her.

“Oh, I love trips on Waverider! Gideon is the _best_.”

“Ugh, you’re such a brown noser.”

“Don’t hate me just cause she loves me more.”

"Correction, she loves your wife more."

"Who wouldn't?" Kara grinned, beaming with pride. 

Sara groaned again. "God, could you just not? For like, a minute?"

Kara tilted her head to the side playfully. "I know you think I'm adorable."

"Oh, I absolutely do not."

"You might as well admit it already. You find me irresistibly charming."

"I didn't know Kryptonian's could get concussed."

"Denying your heart only makes it worse, Sara."

"I am _appalled_ by this discussion."

"I'll be here whenever you're ready to admit to your embarrassing crush on me."

"You know...I was going to say something crude about Lena and a certain dream I had once, but now I'm not."

Kara's mouth dropped open. "Y-you had a dream about Lena?"

Sara smirked suggestively.

"You can't-- You can't just say that you're not going to say it. That's like...still saying it!"

"But I didn't."

Kara crossed her arms, sour faced. "You're mean."

"Isn't that what crushes are supposed to do?"

The doors to the command center opened with a soft whoosh just as Kara cried, "I KNEW IT!"

Ava looked up at them from the main console with a raised eyebrow. "Knew what?"

Kara blushed and waved her hand, fiddling with her glasses awkwardly.

"Supergirl here can't take what she tries to dish out," Sara said smoothly as she walked in. "I don't know how Lena deals with it."

"She deals with me just fine," Kara muttered.

Ava turned away from them. "I don't even want to know."

"Welcome back, Kara Zor-El," Gideon's voice echoed through the chamber. "You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Don't start!" Sara snapped.

The Legends dropped off her at the exact moment before she unknowingly walked through the time rift. She looked up at the dark sky then down at her watch and sighed when she realized that she was _still_ late for dinner with Lena.

* * *

“I know! I’m so sorry.” Kara burst into her office with arms full of bagged food. She bought extra this time considering what she'd been through in the last 12 hours. She dropped everything on the coffee table, throwing off her coat, and immediately began digging through the containers. “Spike got loose again, but don’t worry, I'm on it, I will talk to Adelita.”

Lena looked up from her desk with a smile. “It’s all right, darling. I was actually grateful for the delay, it took me longer than I expected to get through this.”

“But you’re finished now?” she asked hopefully.

“Definitely. And my call isn't for another two hours."

“Great!” Kara shoved a potsticker in her mouth and gulped it down whole. “Because, boy, do I have a story for you.”

“Is there going to be any food left for me by the time you finish telling it?"

She gasped. “You think I would starve my own precious wife? What kind of woman do you take me for?”

“A very hungry Kryptonian one.”

Kara made a face, but bounced over to her all the same and pulled Lena up from the chair into a tight embrace. When she lingered longer than usual, Lena turned her face into Kara’s neck wonderingly, pressing a kiss to her sweet, warm skin.

“Everything all right?”

Kara nodded, breathing Lena in, but still didn’t let go. “Everything’s perfect. I just...I _really_ needed this. I missed you.”

Lena sighed and settled into Kara’s arms contentedly. They stayed like that, quiet and reverent, with no intention of releasing each other anytime soon.

“I'm sorry, Kara," Lena said softly against her throat.

"For what?"

"I did give up hope once...but only for a little while."

She pulled back to look at her, heart slamming into her throat. “What did you just say?”

Lena seemed unconcerned. “Do I look that much older? Do you see any gray hairs?”

Kara’s bewildered stuttering and stammering went on for a while before Lena laughed, taking pity on her.

“It didn’t work? J’onn...”

“It did,” she nodded, “right up until our first kiss. Then everything about that night came flooding back.”

“Wha-- You never said anything!”

“I knew I had to wait until time caught up with both of us. When I saw Spike on the news tonight, I had a feeling that this was it. So...be honest...how much have I aged?”

Kara shook her head with wide, innocent eyes as she gazed down at her. It was a long moment before she found her voice again. “You’ve gotten younger.”

Lena rolled her eyes and groaned, but Kara pulled her back with a firm grip on her arms.

“I’m not just saying that! It’s true. When I saw you back then, I was...thrown. You’re beautiful, Lena. You’ve always been _so_ beautiful. But back then you were so sad...all the time. There was always something weighing you down, you weren’t... I couldn’t figure out what had changed. I was so worried that I’d done something to cause it. But it turns out marriage looks really good on you, Lena Luthor.” She grinned widely. “You look younger now than you did the day we met.”

“Really?”

She nodded. “I think that’s what happiness does to you.”

“Then I guess I’m going through life as Benjamin Button if we continue like this,” Lena snorted laughingly.

Kara picked her up in a burst of excitement and swung her around playfully. “I cannot believe you’ve kept this from me for so long! You _knew_ we were going to get married after our first kiss? That’s so unfair! I was always terrified something bad was going to happen and ruin everything, but nooooo, you got to mosey on through knowing we were going to end up just fine!”

They made their way over to the table to start pulling out the rest of the takeout containers for their dinner.

“If it makes you feel better, I didn’t know that you were going to be the one to propose.”

Kara scoffed. “As if we couldn’t have predicted that.”

“I must say, after all those years of uncertainty around that _massive secret_ you were hiding...”

Kara gave a long suffering sigh.

“...turnabout is fair play, wouldn't you agree? Besides, it was nice to have some certainty for a while. And I was keeping a secret for the greater good!”

She narrowed her eyes at her. “You’re loving this, aren’t you?”

“Every second.”

Grinning, Kara leaned in and kissed her. “Good. Because you deserve it.”

Lena softened at that and Kara used the opportunity to not-so-subtly hide the bag of potstickers behind her back, but Lena wasn't having it.

“Don’t you dare." She poked her side reprovingly.

"You can have the eggrolls!" she protested. "I got extra."

"There's no way you're hoarding them for the fourth time in a row. Hand it over!”

Kara refused, and Lena lunged for them, knowing it was futile, but after a few ridiculous rounds, they dissolved into laughter.

Lena wrapped her arms around her, leaning against her heavily. "Thank you for giving me three of the most incredible first kisses I've ever had," she murmured.

Kara rested her forehead against hers. "I'd go back and give you a fourth and fifth if time travel wasn't so freaking terrifying... Earth _died_ just because I got dinner for us tonight." 

"Well...there's only one way to find out if it was worth it."

She held her hand out expectantly.

Of course Kara gave her wife the potstickers.


End file.
